Mixed feelings for SONA in F/town
After (SONA) President on Monday Mokgweetsi afternoon Masisi this delivered week, Mmegi the State Correspondent of National LESEDI Address MKHUTSHWA took to the streets of Francistown to talk to the people about their views on the deliberations. When Mmegi conducted interviews after SONA, people showed mixed emotions whereas some of them were not interested indicating that they missed the occasion because they were busy trying to make ends meet.
SKnowledge Maisweng (56)
elf-employed Maisweng from Borolong village was not impressed by the SONA. He contends that there is nothing new and believes that the speech is a duplicate of the previous speeches.
“Shortage of jobs remains a thorn in our flesh but all I heard is promises without a clear plan to address burning issues on the ground,” he added.
“We are currently facing acute shortage of medicines in health facilities but it was said that the government has engaged pharmacies to help in distributing essential medicines across the country. I disagree with that because the situation is bad hence the government should come up with a permanent solution to deal with the problem,” he added. He is worried that the President did not give any solution to the problem.
Tsametsi Nogayagae (48)
The Monarch location resident feels that the President should have addressed the current situation more especially the aftermath of COVID-19 and inflation. “With the rising cost of living, we are yet to hear about a crystal roadmap for recovery. I
understand that the government took a decision to cushion households against the effect of rising costs by temporarily reducing general VAT from
14% to 12% for six month. The majority of shops continue to sell at 14% VAT which shows that the government is not monitoring the issue,” said Nogayagae. The government according to Nogayagae should have come up with a standard price for the food commodities looking at the brands. “SONA, to my dissatisfaction, has nothing new which could contribute to my livelihood,” said Nogayagae.
Potlako Malikongwa (32)
As the youth we are still waiting for the government to tackle the issue of youth unemployment and strategies put in place to turn the youth into employment creators instead. The Area S location resident also shared that he was hoping for the President to introduce policies that will create jobs for the youth that will create jobs for the youth in both the public and private sectors. On yearly basis, a lot of the youth are graduating and the number of new graduates joins the street. Lots of youth who are unemployed end up being engaged in rebellious acts, which contribute to the rise in crime. Therefore, I believe that even the government’s efforts to fight against crime will go in vain if they do not tackle the issue of unemployment.
Tebogo Lebakeng (48)
A street vendor from Tonota village who sells ice cream said he was impressed by the SONA. “The speech shows that Masisi will continue changing our lives for the better. I believe that the President is a man of his words. He promised people land and so far they have allocated 33, 000 plots which is applaudable. I am one person who has benefited from some of the youth businesses funded by government as some of their employees here are my regular customers. I would like to also commend the government for increasing the living allowance for tertiary students which assisted the some beneficiaries in tackling their cost of living.”
Tsholofelo Tiego (25)
The youthful Selepa woman selling clothes for a living was quick to highlight that the cost of living is very high and the government is doing little to combat the situation. “All I can say is that it all looks good on paper but in reality we are facing a lot of challenges, which need urgent attention such as shortage of jobs and medicines in clinics. I also pray the government comes up with a suitable plan to deal with the rising cost of living.”